This invention relates to afterburning turbojet engines for use in lower thrust applications such as missiles and light aircraft. In these applications the additional thrust available from a lightweight compact augmentor system is very desirable.
This invention provides an afterburning turbojet engine without the use of flameholders and fuel spray bar systems. The afterburner fuel flow is sprayed into several small turbine bypass injection ducts which connect the main combustion chamber to the forward portion of the afterburner. The relatively high pressure drop between the main combustion chamber and the afterburner creates sonic velocity jets of hot gas and fuel mixture which enter the afterburner in a tangential manner and mix with the turbine discharge gas products.
The tangential entry of the jets creates a fuel-rich jet vortex stabilization mechanism in the forward portion of the afterburner duct. Flame speed is increased in this hot jet induced vortex and the length required to complete the combustion process is minimised.